Reliance Energy Ltd (REL), Tata Power and NTPC are among the 10 qualified bidders in fray for the 4,000-mw Krishnapatnam ultra mega power plant (UMPP) in Andhra Pradesh, request for proposals (RFPs) for which will be accepted till October 24.
After five postponements, finally, the state-run Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has decided to accept the RFPs from the qualified bidders. The company hopes to issue letter of intent (LoI) by end of November, to the successful bidder. Qualified bidders for the project comprise Tata Power, Reliance Energy Ltd (REL), NTPC, Essar, Sterlite, L&T, Torrent, AES, DS Construction and Sumitomo.
REL and Tata Power have already bagged one ultra mega power project at Sasan and Mundra, respectively.
According to a PFC official, ?The decision to invite RFP on October 24, was taken after the qualified bidders gave their consent to the amendments made in the RFP document. As per the amendments, the initial promoter would now have to hold 51% equity in the project for two years after the commissioning date of the project (COD) and 26% only for three years after COD. The lead member in the consortium would not be changed ever. However, a member of the consortium can withdraw but not before 30 days of submission of bid and till the time of issuance of LoI. Thirdly, in case of disqualification of L1 bidder, eligible bidder who has not withdrawn the bid can submit the fresh lowest tariff bid.? In view of the consent given by the qualified bidders, PFC would not have to wait for 60 days since the amendments have been made but can accept the RFP in 15 days.